ABSTRACT
This chapter shows a map of the region of Crux Australis, which contains the Eta Carinae complex, the Southern Cross, and some of the richest regions of the Milky Way. Interestingly, Crux was not even recognized as a separate constellation until 1679, when it was granted independence by an otherwise obscure astronomer named Augustin Royer; previously it had been included in Centaurus, which almost surrounds it. Crux is the smallest of all the constellations, covering only 88 square degrees, but it is exceptionally rich. In shape it is not cruciform, but is much more like a kite. The glorious cluster round Kappa Crucis, NGC 4755 (C94) is often called the Jewel Box. It lies close to Beta, and is easy to see with the naked eye as a hazy patch. Yet perhaps the most remarkable of all the objects in Crux is the Coal Sack (C99), the best-known of all dark nebulae.
